Grand Hotel (1932) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code All the usual hotel nighttime activities. There’s an extended subplot about an industrialist negotiating with a stenographer about what she will give him in exchange for an...
View ArticleCavalcade (1933) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code One of our white bread heroes goes into a starlet’s changing room to wait for her, and then accidentally watches her strip down. Accidentally. Yeah. There’s a few shots near...
View ArticleAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930) Review
Proof That It’s Pre-Code Blood, guts, naked butts and gore, all in hefty doses considering the period it was made in. Our soldiers get a brief reprieve to make love, which includes some unmistakeable...
View ArticleIt Happened One Night (1934) Review
The Particulars of the Picture Peter Werne … Clark Gable Ellie Andrews … Claudette Colbert Shapeley … Roscoe Karns Gordon … Charles C. Wilson Andrews … Walter Connolly Directed by Frank Capra It...
View ArticleThe Big Pond (1930) Review
The Particulars of the Picture Pierre … Maurice Chevalier Barbara Billings … Claudette Colbert Directed by Hobart Henley The Big Pond: You’re Soaking In It “Me? I’m like a good French cheese. Every day...
View ArticleMin and Bill (1930) Review, with Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery
Min … Marie Dressler Bill … Wallace Beery Nancy … Dorothy Jordan Bella … Marjorie Rambeau Alec … Russell Hopton Dick … Donald Dilloway Proof That It’s Pre-Code Bill smuggles in illicit vodka in from...
View ArticleThe Thin Man (1934) Review, with William Powell and Myrna Loy
Nick Charles William Powell Nora Charles Myrna Loy Asta Skippy Released by MGM | Directed By W.S. Van Dyke Proof That It’s Pre-Code Well, Nick Charles punches Nora Charles in the face. There are a...
View ArticleThe House of Rothschild (1934) Review, with George Arliss, Boris Karloff and...
Nathan Rothschild George Arliss Count Ledrantz Boris Karloff Julie Rothschild Loretta Young Captain Fitzroy Robert Taylor Duke of Wellington C. Aubrey Smith Hannah Rothschild Florence Arliss Released...
View ArticleCleopatra (1934), with Claudette Colbert and Warren William
Cleopatra Claudette Colbert Julius Caesar Warren William Marc Antony Henry Wilcoxon Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed By Cecil B. DeMille Proof That It’s Pre-Code-ish The film’s title card is...
View ArticleThe Smiling Lieutenant (1931) Review, with Maurice Chevalier, Claudette...
Niki Maurice Chevalier Franzi Claudette Colbert Anna Miriam Hopkins Released by Paramount Pictures | Directed By Ernst Lubitsch Proof That It’s Pre-Code “We are not afraid to skirmish in the dark…” One...
View ArticleLittle Women (1933) Review, with Katharine Hepburn
Jo March Katharine Hepburn Amy March Joan Bennett Meg March Frances Dee Beth March Jean Parker Marmee Spring Byington Aunt March Edna May Oliver Laurie Douglass Montgomery Mr. Lawrence Henry Stephenson...
View ArticleImitation of Life (1934) Review, with Claudette Colbert, Louise Beavers, and...
Beatrice Pullman Claudette Colbert Delilah Johnson Louise Beavers Stephen Archer Warren William Peola Johnson Fredi Washington Jessie Pullman Rochelle Hudson Elmer Smith Ned Sparks Released by...
View ArticleState Fair (1933) Review, with Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, and Lew Ayres
Abel Will Rogers Margy Janet Gaynor Pat Lew Ayres Wayne Norman Foster Melissa Louise Dresser Emily Sally Eilers Released by Fox Films | Directed by Henry King Run time: 97 minutes Proof That It’s a...
View ArticleMorning Glory (1933) Review, with Katharine Hepburn and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.
Eva Lovelace Katharine Hepburn Joseph Sheridan Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Louis Easton Adolphe Menjou Released by RKO | Directed by Lowell Sherman Run time: 76 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Louis...
View ArticleThe Champ (1931) Review, with Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper
Champ Wallace Beery Dink Jackie Cooper Linda Irene Rich Released by MGM Directed by King Vidor Run time: 83 minutes Proof That It’s a Pre-Code Film Champ has a helluva drinking problem. “Oh, this is...
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